Gray and his fellow freshman paved the way to Rice’s second-straight win. Owl rookie right-hander Dane Myers made his first collegiate start and was sharp in a pre-determined workload. He pitched a career-long 4.1 innings, allowing just one hit and a pair of walks while striking out eight batters.

The 4-0 score was more than enough room for the Owls’ third and final pitcher of the night, freshman Glenn Otto. Like Myers to start the game, Otto was in command firing the final 3.0 shutout innings. The newcomer from Spring, Texas, did not allow any hits nor walks while striking out five.

2014 Rice football season

Though Rice has used the ‘Wild Owl’ formation only once this season it still remains an important part of the offense.

“Absolutely,” co-offensive coordinator Billy Lynch said.

Of the 157 plays run by the Owls in two games, only one – a 3-yard gain by Luke Turner in the third quarter of the season opener at Notre Dame – has come in the ‘Wild Owl’ formation.

The formation is designed to keep defenses guessing, allowing Turner, a former high school quarterback, to take the direct snap and either pass or run. In the Owls’ last game at Rice Stadium last December, Turner had a pair of touchdown passes out of the package in a blowout win over Marshall in the Conference USA championship game.

“You’re going to see it more Saturday,” Lynch said of the Owls’ C-USA opener against Old Dominion.

The limited use of the ‘Wild Owl’ early in the season was because of two main reasons.

The Owls were uncertain how the Irish would line up with a new defensive coordinator in the opener and Texas A&M “played so many crazy (defensive) fronts” last week, Lynch said.

Secondly, the absence of tight end Connor Cella forced the Owls to line up Turner at tight end and use in motion at fullback. Cella, who suffered a broken rib, was cleared to play this week.

Anyone who doubts this doesn’t pay much attention to the carnage scattered on and along highways, and certainly hasn’t driven the stretch of Interstate 10 between Kerrville and Fort Stockton where on just about any day a traveler can count dozens of carcasses of white-tailed deer, raccoons, possums, porcupines, a coyote or two and a score or two of assorted birds ranging in size from vultures to vireos.

Owls can be particularly vulnerable to being victims of encounters with motor vehicles.

These nocturnal avian predators are drawn to roads. It’s a place offering them two things they look for in a hunting area: plenty of prey and an unobstructed zone of attack.

Owls – great horned, barred, screech and barn owls – will take a position on a tree limb, fence post or utility post overlooking the road right-of-way, wait and watch.

Those rights-of-way invariably hold decent vegetative cover which is used by all manner of owl fodder, from cotton rats to cottontails, snakes, frogs, lizards and other critters deemed edible by owls.

The hunting owl waits and watches and listens (the birds have amazing hearing; they can move their ears independently and use that ability along with their dished face that funnels sound to those ears to triangulate location of unseen but not unheard prey) until it has a lock on some unwary young rabbit nibbling on grass or spots (using its huge eyes evolved for seeing in low light) a mouse pinballing from grass clump to grass clump.

The rodent or rabbit seldom sees and almost never hears the end coming. The owl simply leans forward, drops, uses its wide, soft-feathered wings that make almost no sound even when the bird flaps them to approach, then plunges those long, razor-sharp talons into the victim, driving them deep with a grip so powerful that until you have felt it seems impossible for the bird.

That 10-yard or wider strip of pavement running through the hunting ground of a road-side perched owl is a major factor in the bird’s choice of ambush location. That open ground, with no cover and no place to hide is a perfect killing ground for the bird.

It’s a place where, on cool nights, snakes slither and settle to take advantage of the retained warmth, exposing them to hungry owls which fall on them with ease.

And if a rabbit or mouse decides the grass is greener on the other side of the road, the trip across the concrete No Man’s Land exposes it to the owl. It’s easy pickin’ for the bird.

It also can be a death trap for them.

A car comes barreling down a dark road toward where an owl is perched overlooking the right-of-way.

A cotton rat in a clump of grass near the edge of the road feels the vibration of the approaching vehicle, sees the light, hears the rumble. Twitchy to begin with, the rat doesn’t know what to do. It darts into the road, and the watching owl swoops to pursue it.

Sometimes the owl gets the meal.

Sometimes it doesn’t

And sometimes the bird’s stoop sends it on a collision course with a vehicle travelling 60 mph.

These vehicle/owl encounters invariably do not end well for the owl.

Well, almost invariably, as the video illustrates.

This is one lucky owl.

]]>http://blog.chron.com/sportsupdate/2013/02/a-dark-tale-of-owls-roads-life-death-and-luck/feed/12Former Rice star Rendon on the mend from ankle injuryhttp://blog.chron.com/sportsupdate/2012/05/former-rice-star-rendon-on-the-mend-from-ankle-injury-in-second-minor-league-game/
http://blog.chron.com/sportsupdate/2012/05/former-rice-star-rendon-on-the-mend-from-ankle-injury-in-second-minor-league-game/#commentsMon, 14 May 2012 21:14:00 +0000http://blog.chron.com/owls/?p=7722
Anthony Rendon, the top hitting prospect in the Washington Nationals system, suffered an ankle injury while rounding third base in a game for Class A Potomac in early April.
]]>Former Rice All-America third baseman Anthony Rendon has been in Houston rehabbing an injured left ankle he suffered in his second professional game.

Rendon, the top hitting prospect in the Washington Nationals system, reportedly suffered a small ankle fracture while rounding third base in a game for Class A Potomac in early April.

Anthony Rendon was the sixth overall pick by the Washington Nationals in last year's MLB draft. (Julio Cortez/AP)

Rendon had the cast removed two weeks ago and currently is wearing a protective boot and getting around with the help of crutches. He said there is no timetable for his return but that his first pro season is likely over. He was 2-for-4 in two games with Potomac.

“I’m probably not going to come back this year,” Rendon said Monday while attending Rice practice at Reckling Park. “It wouldn’t make any sense to come back and play the last month and try and do something big.”

Rendon said he has no concerns since it’s not the right ankle he tore ligaments in 2009 during the NCAA super regionals and fractured in 2010 while playing with Team USA.

“It’s nothing out of the ordinary they haven’t seen,” Rendon said. “It’s not like something new I haven’t been through. I’m always optimistic. I’ll recover again.”

Rendon said his strained right (throwing) shoulder that forced him to mostly designated hitter last season has also healed. With uncertainty over his health, Rendon, who was projected as the top overall pick, fell to the Nationals with the sixth pick.

Despite his first pro season ending after only two games, Rendon called the experience “awesome.”

“To think that I finally am at that level getting an opportunity is a dream come true,” he said.

Rendon said one of the first things he did with his signing bonus was buy some land outside of Houston for his parents. They are currently designing a home that should be completed by December.

“That’s the least I could do for them for the past 21 years,” Rendon said.

]]>http://blog.chron.com/sportsupdate/2012/05/former-rice-star-rendon-on-the-mend-from-ankle-injury-in-second-minor-league-game/feed/7Owls to open 2013 football season at Texas A&Mhttp://blog.chron.com/sportsupdate/2012/04/owls-to-open-2013-football-season-at-texas-am/
http://blog.chron.com/sportsupdate/2012/04/owls-to-open-2013-football-season-at-texas-am/#commentsWed, 25 Apr 2012 19:26:01 +0000http://blog.chron.com/owls/?p=7318
Rice athletic director Rick Greenspan said there will be discussions with A&M officials about future games.]]>

Rice will visit Kyle Field for the first time since 1994, when the Owls lost 7-0. (David J. Phillip/AP)

Rice will open the 2013 football season against Texas A&M in College Station, marking the first meeting between the two schools since the breakup of the Southwest Conference.

The game will be played Aug. 31.

“Rice and Texas A&M have a deep tradition on the football field and we are excited about the chance to renew this series next year,” Rice athletic director Rick Greenspan said. “I hear from so many of our fans who relish the memories of those great games in our history and I know how much it will mean to them to once again make the trip up to College Station to see us play.”

The agreement is for one year, but Greenspan said the schools will talk about playing future games.

Rice and Texas A&M first met in football in 1914 and a year later the two schools were part of the original group of eight institutions that formed the Southwest Conference.

A&M beat the Owls 17-10 in their last meeting on Nov. 9, 1995, at Rice Stadium. The following season, the Aggies joined the Big 12 and Rice began play in the Western Athletic Conference.

The last time the Owls beat the Aggies was a 10-6 win Oct. 25, 1980, in College Station. A&M leads the all-time series 50-27-3.

The Owls now have five non-conference games and must drop one, a process that could play out during the next round of conference realignment. Rice is scheduled to play Kansas at home, Houston at Reliant Stadium and road games against Wake Forest and UT-San Antonio.

Greenspan said the Owls’ scheduling philosophy is to have one revenue-generating game, a home game against a Football Championship Subdivision (formerly I-AA) opponent, the Bayou Bucket with UH and a home-and-home series.

Rice has revenue road games scheduled against Notre Dame in 2014 and Texas in 2015.

Texas A&M, which joins the Southeastern Conference in July, was originally scheduled to open the 2013 season at Florida International on the same date.

]]>http://blog.chron.com/sportsupdate/2012/04/owls-to-open-2013-football-season-at-texas-am/feed/53Rice, UH to play Bayou Bucket in 2013http://blog.chron.com/sportsupdate/2012/04/rice-uh-to-play-bayou-bucket-in-2013/
http://blog.chron.com/sportsupdate/2012/04/rice-uh-to-play-bayou-bucket-in-2013/#commentsFri, 20 Apr 2012 17:00:14 +0000http://blog.chron.com/owls/?p=7101
The meeting between the crosstown rivals at Reliant Stadium will be a non-conference game with the Cougars leaving for the Big East Conference after next season.]]>

The Owls last won the Bayou Bucket in 2010 at Rice Stadium. (Smiley N. Pool/Chronicle)

Rice and Houston announced Friday that the annual Bayou Bucket football game will continue through the 2013 season.

There had been some talk the game could be interrupted with Houston leaving Conference USA for the Big East after next season.

The two schools previously announced a two-year agreement to play in 2012 and 2013 at Reliant Stadium. This year’s game will be played Sept. 29; the date for the 2013 game has not been finalized, the schools said in a release.

“It has always been our goal to do everything that we can to maintain the Bayou Bucket series,” Rice athletic director Rick Greenspan said. “It’s obvious how much this game means to the players on both teams and we need to continue to make sure that future generations of Owls and Cougars will have the same opportunity to win the Bucket.”

The annual rivalry is one of only two in the nation featuring two major universities from the same city, joining UCLA and USC. Houston leads the all-time series 27-11, but the series has been much closer in the past 16 contests, with Houston holding a 9-7 lead. Rice won the only previous meeting at Reliant Stadium, 10-7, to open the 2004 season.

“We are excited this series will continue for the next two years and appreciate the efforts of everyone involved,” Houston athletic director Mack Rhoades said. “The Houston-Rice game is meaningful for our city, campuses and alumni, and we are pleased our football student-athletes will be able to enjoy this great intra-city rivalry.”

Houston and Rice have failed to meet on the football field just three times since 1971, from 1996-98 following the demise of the Southwest Conference. The series resumed as a non-conference game in 1999 and became a conference matchup when Rice joined C-USA in 2006.

UH will join the Big East on July 1, 2013, and had an existing open date on its non-conference schedule, which will be filled by the game with Rice. The Owls will move their previously-announced 2013 game with Louisiana Tech to a date to be determined.

The 6-foot-1 Washington averaged 18 points and five assists for Frankford High School en route to being named the Philadelphia Public School Player of the Year in 2011. Washington is considered a candidate to replace transfer Dylan Ennis at the point guard spot next season.

Washington attended Mont Clare Academy this past year after graduating third in his class from Frankford.

“Keith is an effective floor leader and makes players around him better,” coach Ben Braun said. “He’s an extremely unselfish player. He can score and is effective off the dribble.”

The 6-foot-3 Ramljak averaged 19.2 points and 4.4 rebounds as a sophomore at Ventura (Calif.) College last season. The addition of Ramljak gives the Owls a much-needed 3-point shooter following the graduation of Connor Frizzelle and Lucas Kuipers,

Ramljak shot 42.4 percent on field goals, 74.7 on free throws and made 102 3-pointers (40.8 percent). In two seasons at Ventura College, Ramljak made 183 3-pointers.

“He’s really a great pure shooter,” Braun said.

The 6-foot-6 Kapic averaged 13.2 points, 2.4 rebounds and 1.6 assists in one season at the Perkiomen School, a prep school in Pennsylvania. He converted 80 percent of his free throws.

Kapic also has international experience, playing in six games for Austria at the FIBA Under-18 European Championship.

“He’s a good-looking, strong player who can get his shot off because of his size,” Braun said.

The Owls are expected to sign Ross Wilson, a 6-7 forward from England, later this week.

They also could sign two additional players before the end of the May 16 signing period, Braun said.

]]>http://blog.chron.com/sportsupdate/2012/04/spring-signing-period-rice-picks-up-california-shooting-guard/feed/6Pitching probables for Dallas Baptist serieshttp://blog.chron.com/sportsupdate/2012/02/pitching-probables-for-dallas-baptist-series/
http://blog.chron.com/sportsupdate/2012/02/pitching-probables-for-dallas-baptist-series/#commentsThu, 23 Feb 2012 20:04:31 +0000http://blog.chron.com/owls/?p=6350Dallas Baptist, which came within two wins of advancing to the College World Series last season, will visit Reckling Park for a three-game series this weekend. The Patriots took two of three games during a season-opening series against Southeast Missouri State.

Rice (5-0) is off to its best start since 2001 after series sweeps against Florida International and New Mexico State.